Title 24 — Highways, Bridges, and Ferries

The director is authorized to sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of all obsolescent road machinery, equipment, and material no longer needed, required, or useful for highway purposes. All such obsolescent road machinery, equipment, and material offered for sale to political sub…

The director has the authority to inspect and test all materials, supplies, equipment, and machinery used by the department and to develop methods and procedures for this purpose.

The director has the authority to maintain and develop a testing laboratory to carry out the requirements of section 24-03-16. The department may, upon request of any division or agency of government, make available the services and facilities of said testing laboratory, and make…

The director shall, to the extent practicable, prepare, print, and distribute manuals of standard and uniform methods for any of the activities, divisions, or work of the department, or for general road and bridge construction, design, land acquisition, traffic control, maintenan…

The director has the authority to gather, investigate, and compile information concerning the use, construction, and maintenance of highways, the practices and methods of efficient highway organization, financing, and such other information, data, and statistics of this state or …

The director has the authority to collect, analyze, and interpret all physical and economic data needed to measure existing and estimated future street and highway traffic characteristics, such as, origin and destination, volumes, speeds, accidents, congestion, parking, pedestria…

The commissioner shall prepare for general distribution road maps of the state highway system and other roads as the commissioner determines necessary. Any tourist-oriented material printed on road maps must be prepared by the department of commerce division of tourism at no cost…

The department is hereby authorized to purchase, install, and maintain a department of transportation radio communications network out of funds now and hereinafter designated as state highway maintenance funds. The department is further authorized to enter into an agreement with …

No part of the right of way for state highways may be encroached upon by erection thereon of any structure, or placing thereon any personal property, other than a temporary parking of a motor vehicle, without a written permit from the director. Any encroachment may be caused to b…

The legislative assent required by section 1 of the Act of Congress approved July 11, 1916, Public Law No. 156, entitled "An Act to provide that the United States shall aid the states in the construction of rural post roads, and for other purposes," is hereby given. The director …

In the selection and designation of highway systems, as provided for under this title, due consideration must be given to those highways on which federal-aid funds have been expended, and when practicable and justifiable, such federal-aid highways must be included in said systems…

A municipality, through its governing body, wherever a federal-aid highway is routed through such municipality, may participate in the financing, planning, construction, and acquisition of right of way of said highway. 24-04-05. Municipalities may pay share of highway cost by tax…

All provisions of law relating to the levying of taxes for internal improvements of municipalities and the levying of special assessments for such improvements are applicable to sections 24-04-04 and 24-04-05 insofar as they are not inconsistent with the general purpose thereof, …

The county road and bridge fund created by section 24-05-01 may be expended only for road machinery and for grading, ditching, and surfacing, and implementation of the proposed county construction program of roads on the county road system.

The board of county commissioners, in case of each improvement ordered by it, shall designate the place of beginning and the direction in which the work must proceed, and shall require the same to be completed mile [1.61 kilometers] by mile [1.61 kilometers] or in parts of miles …

No county, city, or township may lease, rent, or enter into a contract or agreement for the use of any road construction or maintenance equipment belonging to any county, city, or township on other than county, city, or township roads or projects at a rate which is less than the …

Repealed by S.L. 2017, ch. 204, § 3.

Upon the filing of the surveyor's certificate as provided in section 24-05-03, the county auditor shall issue warrants accordingly on the county treasurer in favor of the contractor, payable out of the county road and bridge fund appropriated thereto, and the same must be paid by…

Repealed by S.L. 1953, ch. 115, § 2.

Whenever the expense of constructing a highway or any part thereof is to be borne by the county, the board of county commissioners thereof has the power to deviate from section and township lines and to condemn and purchase right of way for such highway, if in its opinion the cos…

Whenever the board of county commissioners of any county bordered by a state line deems it for the best interests of such county to open and improve a highway on said state line, it may negotiate with the proper officials of the adjoining county or state, and may make contracts o…

The board of county commissioners of any county of the state, by resolution or order, as part of the cost of constructing, reconstructing, widening, altering, changing, locating, relocating, aligning, realigning, or maintaining, any highway in said county, may purchase, acquire, …

If the board of county commissioners is unable to purchase the lands required for the purposes mentioned in section 24-05-09 at a price that the board determines reasonable, the board by order or resolution shall declare the necessity for the taking of the lands. The board of cou…

Within fifteen days after the making of an order or the passing of a resolution as provided in section 24-05-10, the special board therein specified shall fix a time and place not later than thirty days from and after the passage of said order or resolution for hearing all person…

When damages have been awarded by the special board, the board of county commissioners shall pay or cause to be paid to the clerk of the district court, for the benefit of the persons interested, the sum awarded by said board, said amount to be paid in cash. Every owner entitled …

If no appeal is taken from an award made as provided in section 24-05-11, then at the expiration of thirty days from the date of the deposit of the amount awarded, the receipt of the owner of said premises, or of the clerk of the district court, must be recorded in the office of …

Any party aggrieved by the award made as provided in section 24-05-11 shall have the remedy now provided by law for an appeal from any determination of the board of county commissioners in the taking of lands by a county for highway purposes. Appeal from such award must be taken …

Notwithstanding the taking of an appeal as provided for in section 24-05-14, the board of county commissioners may proceed with the use of the property so condemned and is liable for any additional amount awarded to the appellant upon such appeal.

The county road system must be the roads designated and selected by the boards of county commissioners. The director must be informed of the system so designated. Any changes of the original designation which can be justified and based on new developments must be made by the boar…

The boards of county commissioners in their respective counties have the sole authority and responsibility to acquire land for, construct, maintain, and operate the county road system as designated and selected by them. If a board of county commissioners determines a local road m…

Whenever any board of county commissioners of any county decides that any county road or roads in such county must be improved or constructed in cooperation with the department, such board shall make written application to the director for the improvement and construction thereof…

The election to proceed with an improvement as provided in section 24-05-18 by the board of county commissioners constitutes an agreement and contract with the director and the board of county commissioners shall provide sufficient funds in accordance with law to defray its share…

The requirement of section 24-05-21 as to a graded inslope of all roads and approaches does not apply: 1. Where the governing body having authority over such roads and approaches exempts such roads and approaches from the requirement of section 24-05-21 due to factors causing an …

The governing body having authority over the right of way of a county or township road may develop and implement rules governing the disposal of any stored hay or other obstruction placed on the right of way.

The board of township supervisors of any township in the state has general supervision over the roads, highways, and bridges throughout the township.

The board of supervisors of any township may contract for and purchase, upon credit or otherwise, any road machinery, implements, or equipment for the use of such township.

Repealed by S.L. 1975, ch. 241, § 1.

Road implements purchased by a township must be paid out of the highway taxes of the township and may be paid in not to exceed five annual installments. A copy of the note or contract issued upon the purchase must be filed in the office of the township clerk, and such township cl…

Each overseer of highways is responsible personally for the proper use and care of all implements while in the overseer's charge, or in use in the overseer's district, and any overseer of highways, or other person who, through negligence or willfully injures or damages such imple…

Each board of township supervisors shall provide suitable places for the storage and proper housing of all tools, implements, and machinery owned by the township and shall cause such tools, implements, and machinery to be stored and housed therein when not in use.

In townships owning road machinery, the board of township supervisors may make such disposition of the same as in its discretion is best for the interests of the township, or it may purchase or lease such machinery as may be necessary.

Repealed by S.L. 1953, ch. 181, § 1. 24-06-09. Contract for township road and bridge work by county, township, or soil conservation district. The board of supervisors of any township may enter into a contract with the board of county commissioners of the county, the board of supe…

In all places where highways are improved and graded under the contract system in a township where land contiguous to, adjoining, and outside of the limits of any city has been surveyed into a block or blocks and divided into city lots, the person to whom such contract is awarded…

Whenever a township constructs a ditch or drain in connection with road building, and such ditch, drain, or road interferes with the ingress or egress of any owner of adjoining land, the township shall install crossings at such point or points as will afford the owner or owners o…

The electors of any township, at the annual township meeting, may direct such portion of the road tax to be expended on the highways in an adjoining township as they deem conducive to the interests of the township. In such instance, labor and taxes must be expended under the join…

In unorganized territory, the board of county commissioners shall appoint a district overseer of highways whose power and duties are the same as in an organized township, and whose compensation must be fixed by the board of county commissioners to be paid on presentation of a ver…

The board of county commissioners shall order the expenditure of all road taxes paid into the county treasury from unorganized territory in the improvement of the highways, paying the district overseer of highways, purchasing implements, and repairing bridges in the road district…

On or before the first Monday in January in each year, each district overseer of highways appointed by the board of county commissioners shall make a report to the board of the overseer's doings as such during the preceding year, the amount of labor performed, and the number of d…

All road taxes and assessments upon persons or property must be paid in cash, and the township clerk, immediately after the board of township supervisors has made the levy of taxes for road purposes, shall notify the county auditor of the amount of the levy. The county auditor sh…

Repealed by S.L. 1953, ch. 179, § 2.